Young Musicians Without Borders

N. and I attended, at noon today, part of the last
day, of three, of the qualifying rounds for the 2005
Rostropovich International Cello Competition, held at
La Maison Francaise - Ambassade de France aux Etats-Unis,
in Washington, D.C. The competition is held every four
years, and this year the Washington qualifying round
featured 32 contestants, aged 14 to 32, from the U.S.A.
and Canada, Continental Western Europe, China and
East Asia, and Chile, Roumania, and Bulgaria.
The contestants were each required to play movements
from the Bach solo literature, as well as a modern solo
sonata by Paul Hindemith,Benjamin Britten, Gyorgy Ligeti,
or George Crumb. The hour that we attended, three of the
contestants chose the Benjamin Britten. The alternation
of young talent playing Bach and Britten made for
an enjoyable and civilized summer afternoon interlude
from the heat and urban madness. Before the competition
began, N. and I had a pleasant chat with
Maestro Rostropovich.

Charles Downey reviewed the first day of the Competition
at ionarts.org.